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3.11.2016

While I was in Italy I traveled to quite a few beach towns. Even though it was Spring, barely anything was open, and it was too cold to swim.

Positano

No Italian was swimming in the water. While the Americans were jumping in the water, using bras, underwear, and scarves as bathingsuits (I am not kidding), and drinking boxed wine on the beach. Americans stick out like a sore thumb in Italy.

I decided to do as the Italians do, I suppose. Sit on the beach fully clothed, then walk around the shops.

Positano had a lot of really cute small shops. And the clothing was all so beachy and pastel colored lace. I thought about buying something, but decided I probably won't find myself wearing that particular style of clothing very often.

SHOPPING TIP It's a good idea to look at a clothing item before buying it and imagine where you will wear it. If you can't imagine wearing it to something or some place you will be going to in the next 5 months, take it out of your shopping cart.

To get to the beach in Positano, you have to walk down a lot of steps. I mean A LOT. Not joking in the slightest bit. Everybody's caves started twitching before we got to the bottom. But once we saw the view of this gorgeous town through the cracks of the apartments, we knew it was worth it.

After spending a few hours at the beach, and looking at all the cute shops, we climbed up the hill to the bus stop. The bus ordeal to get to Amalfi was a nightmare. First we had to wait at bus stop for an hour and a half. Which was time we could have spent at the beach. Right before the bus came, groups of people started arrive to also wait for the bus. When the bus finally arrived, it was already half full! People who had just arrived and only waited 5 or so minutes tried to get on the bus before everyone else who had already been waiting for an hour. Very rude, I must say. Do people like this have no compassion? Only care about themselves? Not at all an attractive characteristics in a person.

In the end, my friends and I squeezed on the bus. Standing in the middle of the isles all the way to Amalfi.

1.31.2016

Pompeii was such a crazy experience for me. I have never seen something like this in all my travels. I don't know much about this city (besides the obvious, of course), but I found it very exciting as well as heartbreaking.

Seeing those people and animals frozen to stone made me feel a little emotional. When I learn about history like this in school I don't think much of it. I just see it as a lesson on the exam and a place I will probably never go to. But having gone to Pompeii and Vesuvius has completely changed how I look at these places. The best way to learn the history of a country is to honestly to go to those places and walk on the same paths where history took place.

It makes me wonder why in American school we only have the option to go to a different country for a field trip in our language classes. I really believe history classes should also go on international trips. It will make students retain information in a much deeper way.

This photo was taken on the hike up to the top of Mt. Vesuvius

Apparently I was risking my life for this picture. My friends and I hopped the fence around the volcano to take better pictures. See that opening in the photo above? Yeah, that is the inside of the volcano. Thank God I didn't slip and fall into the volcano! Not sure if I would have slide all the way into lava or if it is enclosed with rocks and ash, but i'm glad I didn't find out.

-A

P.S. I'm always posting photos from my travels on Tumblr and Instagram. Check it out if you love photography!

1.27.2016

Cinque Terra was absolutely adorable. Such a cute, fun place to see and take pictures of. It's not necessarily exciting like Las Vegas or Rome; where there is always exciting things happening. But it is a great weekend destination to take photos and relax.

I wasn't able to go to all five cities because I was only there one day. So I guess Cinque Terra was more like Quattro Terra for me.

I love how every little city is a bit different from the other. In one city you can sit on the beach and drink a cocktail, and in the next city you can hike up a hill. But all the towns were cute and great for taking pictures.